Coats enters the FTSE 250
- 01 Jun 2017
Coats, the world’s leading industrial thread manufacturer and a major player in the Americas textile crafts market, is to enter the FTSE 250. The latest quarterly review by FTSE Russell, the global index provider, confirms that Coats has met the requisite criteria and will enter the FTSE 250 with effect from Monday 19 June. This also comes after Coats market capitalisation reaching in excess of £1bn last week.
Coats, which was a founding member of the FT 30 index created in 1935 and was also once the third largest company in the world, has undergone significant corporate change in recent years in order to help reach the strategic objective of entering the FTSE 250. Previously owned by the Guinness Peat Group it returned to listed status in February 2015. What then followed was a series of unprecedented major steps that together have led to its normalisation as a listed company.
In June 2016 it delisted from both the Australian and New Zealand stock exchanges. This helped concentrate trading volumes on the UK market and also supported the repositioning of Coats as a UK headquartered, global industrial manufacturing business. In December 2016, the UK Pensions Regulator confirmed it would cease regulatory action for two pensions schemes following Coats signing heads of terms with the Trustees. Yet another key step was made earlier this year, in February, when Coats announced its intention to return to the dividend list.
Other steps in the corporate transformation of Coats include the appointment of Rajiv Sharma as Group Chief Executive, January 2017; the appointment of Simon Boddie as Chief Financial Officer, July 2016; and the completion of three acquisitions. In May 2015, it acquired GSD, a UK based supplier of management solutions that analyse time, cost and production capability in the sewn products sector. In June 2016 it acquired Fast React Systems, which provides software solutions and expertise to improve the operational efficiency of manufacturers, sourcing companies and retailers in apparel and footwear sector.
Also in June 2016, Coats acquired Gotex, a Spanish based company which designs and manufactures high performance fibres, yarns and tapes used in the telecommunications, energy and oil and gas sectors. This was the first acquisition for the Performance Materials part of the business. All three acquisitions have proved highly successful with the companies each outperforming their post-acquisition targets.
Rajiv Sharma, Group Chief Executive, Coats, said: ‘This is excellent news for our employees, shareholders and customers and is the culmination of an intense period of corporate transformation. Thanks go to our 19,000 employees for delivering strong operational results.’
To see the announcement by FTSE Russell go to www.ftserussell.com
ENDS
For more information and to request a photo of Anne Fahy contact:
Kristina Blissett, Head of Communications kristina.blissett@coats.com
T +44 (0)208 210 5084, M +44 (0)7714 539887
Notes to Editors
About Coats
Coats is the world’s leading industrial thread manufacturer and a major player in the Americas textile crafts market. At home in some 60 countries, Coats employs 19,000 people across six continents. Revenues in 2016 were US$1.5bn.
Coats’ pioneering history and innovative culture ensure the company leads the way around the world: providing complementary and value added products and services to the apparel and footwear industries; applying innovative techniques to develop high technology Performance Materials threads and yarns in areas such as automotive, composites and fibre optics; and extending the crafts offer into new markets and online.
Headquartered in the UK, Coats is a FTSE 250 listed company on the London Stock Exchange.
- Each year we make enough thread to go into 8 billion pairs of jeans - that’s one for every person on the planet
- Every month Coats produces enough thread to stretch all the way to the sun
- More than 450 million pairs of shoes are made every year using Coats’ thread
- More than 100 million car airbags are made using Coats’ Performance Materials thread every year
- In 1879 Thomas Edison used Coats’ thread in his experiments to invent the light bulb
- Our Red Heart knitting and crochet yarn brand has been named ‘America’s Most Recommended’ by the Women’s Choice Award for three years running
- Our flame retardant Performance Materials threads can withstand temperatures as high as 1,000 degrees Celsius
- Coats is the second largest supplier of zips to global brands